Mainstream auto manufacturers are jumping all over the idea of the electric car these days. Mitsubishi is the newest to join in the craze, while Toyota and Ford have had plans on the books for years. But a few companies have started their trade with the electric car, and that is where it has stayed.
Tesla Motors may be the most famous of these companies, with the 2006 introduction of the Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car and the first produced by the company. The goal of Tesla Motors, named for the electrical engineer and creator of the Tesla Coil, Nikola Tesla, is the create a line of high-performance battery-powered automobiles. In the works today they have a sedan called “Model S” slated for release by 2010.
Th!nk Motors- the third most popular electric car manufacturer in North America- takes a different spin on the electric car. Their compact electric vehicles are designed specifically for urban transport and feature a more compact size and shape that the Roadster. The Think city, Th!nk’s most popular model, charges overnight and can deliver a range of up to 180 k. While they don’t offer much in the way of style choice, Th!nk’s are popular for those living in tight urban centers, where space is a minimum and gas is not cheap.
Phoenix Motors operates along much the same lines as Tesla, but concentrating more on SUV and highway models, what they call “fleet vehicles.” All their automobiles are emission-free, including their Phoenix SUV and SUT. In short, the company’s aim is to answer the call for bigger, faster, more durable electric car in order to satisfy the need for grandeur and eco-viability rampant in North American auto manufacturing. Right now their SUT model features a top speed of 95mph as well as the ability to reach up to 100miles on a 10-minuet charge.
These are just a sampling of the way in which automotive manufacturing is shifting from improving gasoline-powered vehicles to companies founded on simply one or two electric models. In time these companies are sure to grow, both in size and in the number of models offered, but the market is still budding, and with the boost in eco-friendly business they’re sure to takeoff.
I am an junior English major/ Philosophy minor at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Currently I am spending the spring of 2009 studying at the University College Cork in Cork, Ireland.
